Kravitz: New boss is like old boss; so?

Let's understand and accept this up front: Jim Caldwell is a whole lot like Tony Dungy.

He, too, is a man of faith. He, too, is the son of hardworking parents. He, too, is a Midwesterner. He, too, has been married for many years and has several children. And he, too, is a reserved personality who places more importance on teaching than ruling with an iron fist.

Here's the question, though: What's wrong with being a whole lot like Tony Dungy?

Caldwell is his own man and he will be his own man, and over time, he will put his signature on a team that should reach the playoffs as long as No. 18 remains healthy. But if Caldwell is a whole lot like Dungy, on and off the field, the more power to him.

No, he's not a sexy choice (although the lovely Mrs. Caldwell, Cheryl, would certainly disagree). He's not a Mike Shanahan or a Bill Cowher or a Marty Schottenheimer, not a choice who demands big, brassy headlines. But for the Indianapolis Colts, who said goodbye to a giant as coach Monday, Caldwell is the right choice at the right time.

And isn't this the way the Colts do things? They grow their own. They hire from within. They keep it in the family. It's hard to argue with the results. Next man up.

"You think back to Bill Walsh in San Francisco, and when he left, they hired George Seifert from within the staff to take the job,'' team owner Jim Irsay said. "Nobody really knew much about Seifert except for the people inside the building, but he went on to have a lot of success. I see some similarities there."

Caldwell is filling some of the biggest shoes in sports. He is filling the shoes of a legend, a guy who not only won, but won in a way that inspired almost universal reverence in this area. It's hard to imagine there being a more respected and beloved sports figure to come through this city, standing right beside Peyton Manning and Reggie Miller.

That's a tough, daunting spot in which to be, but listening to Caldwell, watching him knock it out of the park with an inspiring and forceful performance during his introductory news conference, you got the sense he has been preparing for this moment for most of his adult life.

Caldwell has learned from some of the best in the game, including Rey Dempsey, Joe Paterno, Dennis Green, Bill McCartney, Howard Schnellenberger and, of course, Dungy. For the past year, Caldwell has been the head-coach-in-waiting, and learned several important lessons while looking over the shoulder of the departing Dungy.

"We had a disciplinary issue that popped up and I asked (Dungy), 'How did you deal with this issue?' " Caldwell said Tuesday. ". . . This particular individual he dealt with and punished, some may have thought it could have been handled a couple of different ways. It could have been more severely or less severely. He and I kind of batted that around a little bit. He said this to me: 'It's not about me. It's not about me. It's about this team. It's about this organization. It's about what's best for them.' . . . He did a great job of removing himself sometimes from a situation, where a lot of us in those situations of authority sometimes have to be able to pound the podium a little bit to show, 'Hey, I'm in control.' He set great examples and showed us that that's not necessarily the best way.''

So who is Jim Caldwell?

Truth is, we're all going to find out over time. We know the biography, know his influences, know the background, but we won't really get to know him until the games start, until the adversity comes.

We know this: Caldwell will have to be strong, and not just because he's replacing a legend. He's going to be working with two of football's biggest personalities, two alpha males, team president Bill Polian and Manning.

Don't expect any major departures in the Colts' style of play. Don't expect any major alterations in the team's coaching staff. But the players can expect one major change in the coach's disposition.

At some point in the next few months, Caldwell will raise his voice. Maybe more than once. His players may keel over from the shock.

"I never heard Tony do that in all our years here,'' Caldwell said, smiling.

He won't curse; Caldwell, a Christian who used to fine his Wake Forest players for cursing, won't drop F-bombs on his unsuspecting minions. But he may pump up the volume from time to time.

As Caldwell spoke Tuesday, Dungy sat quietly in the back of the room and supported an old friend. Even after Dungy moves back to Florida, his long shadow will remain. For Caldwell, a man cut from the same cloth as his predecessor, that doesn't have to be a burden.

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Kravitz: New boss is like old boss; so?

Let's understand and accept this up front: Jim Caldwell is a whole lot like Tony Dungy. He, too, is a man of faith. He, too, is the son of hardworking parents. He, too, is a Midwesterner. He, too,